This is an amazing opportunity for MOMocrats readers to actually ask first questions about one of the issues that effects all of us, air quality.

Currently, there are no national limits on the amount of mercury and other toxic air pollution released from power plant smokestacks. The toxic air pollutants from the coal and oil fired plants have numerous and serious health effects, especially on children. Research has shown that Mercury harm’s children's developing brains, including effects on memory, attention, language, and fine motor and visual spatial skills.

The other toxic metals found such as arsenic, chromium and nickel are known to cause cancer. Not to mention the damage Mercury and many of the other toxic pollutants causes our nation's lakes, streams, and fish.

This is just a handful of the reasons why the EPA’s proposed Mercury and Air Toxics Standards rule will have a huge impact on our health, the air, the economy and even jobs.

The EPA estimates the value of the improvements to health alone total $59 billion to $140 billion by 2016 by preventing thousands of premature deaths and tens of thousands of heart attacks, bronchitis cases and asthma attacks. Meeting the standards created by the rule would also create new jobs such as building, installing and operating the equipment to reduce the harmful emissions of mercury and other toxics.

Got questions? Well join the Clever Girls Collective community Q & A session with Administrator Jackson where you can get your air quality-related questions by her! They’ll also be discussing clean air—how pollution has affected you and your family sharing tips for ways you can help ensure we leave a legacy of cleaner air to future generations. They’ll also be offering prizes throughout the hour — including Moms Clean Air Force prize packs and gifts.

July 02, 2011

Once again, the elected ofﬁcials in Kansas, who are more loyal to their version of the bible than to the citizens they serve, have managed to earn points on the attention meter.

Ten years ago it was evolution. Kansas was the ﬁrst of many states to attempt to remove evolution from its Science classrooms. The good news is this insanity woke up Kansans, who worked to remove the zealots from the state board of education and restore evolution to the Science curriculum. The bad news is most people outside of Kansas donʼt realize this and still assume our kids are taught creationism instead of evolution. And this started the ball rolling for several other states to challenge the teaching of evolution.

Now it looks like Kansas has started yet another ball rolling, this time about abortion. In November, the most radical group of far right (mainly tea party) folks were elected to the state legislature. Thankfully, the state Senate remained more moderate, but they were out shouted by the extremists in the House.

EMILY's List President Stephanie Schriock was our MOMochat guest in a spirited interview about the effort in Wisconsin, what we can do to support them, and why we should.

"I really see this as a springboard for all of our races coming up in 2012," Schriock said. "I think it’s going to be a very, very, interesting year and as long as women continue to step up and run, I think we’re going to see a lot of new, inspirational women leaders serving all over the country, from legislative seats, city council; right up to the United States Senate."

As Schriock explains, "We say there is a War on Women, and with wars, there’s two sides and I intend that women will be the victors in this war. And it is really a time for us all to pull together."

We can help the effort by donating -- and/or joining Team EMILY and phone banking to people in the state. "Of you can’t get to Wisconsin, you sure can sit in your living room and pick up the phone and call voters in Wisconsin. And we’ve got it all set up; you can go through in the comfort of your home and make those calls and share with those voters in Wisconsin how important is is – not just to the folks in Wisconsin, but to the women of this country, to see this change. And to get these women elected," Schriock said.

"The great thing about what EMILY’s List does is we network women and men all over the country who really believe that representative democracy is our true future, is our best policy. And by getting more women elected, we’re going to get where we want to go as a society," she said.

Schriock had a lot more to say: about hero Governors like North Carolina's Beverly Purdue, who repeatedly vetoed bills from the state's Republican controlled legislature that would defund Planned Parenthood... the end of the era of the moderate Republican women... and voter caging efforts throughout the country, disenfranchising voting rights (particularly of women).

May 20, 2011

Over at our MOMocrats MOMochat radio show, we've had some fun talking about the special election to replace disgraced GOP Representative Chris Lee. (You remember: He was the dude who got in trouble for soliciting dates on Craig's List. Yes, he was married and campaigned on "family values.")

At the time, those in the know thought Lee's seat would be a shoo-in for another Republican. After all, this district is considered the most conservative one in the state. The Republicans were quick to nominate their candidate for the seat: Jane Corwin, who is already known to the voters as their representative in the state Assembly. She had a four-week head start on her Democratic opponent, Erie County Clerk Kathy Hochul.

And then a funny thing happened -- not "ha ha, funny" but political kismet: Paul Ryan unveiled his "Path to Prosperity" (which Cynematic more correctly describes as the "Road to Ruin"), which would gut Medicare and Medicaid and place seniors squarely at the mercy of the insurance market. Republican Corwin supports the plan...

...and suddenly, the Democratic candidate is in striking distance of picking up the seat in NY 26.

It appears that most Americans like Medicare just the way it is... a fact Republicans seemed to understand two years ago, during the health care debate, when they misled older voters into thinking that the Affordable Care Act was a sneak attack on the program.

One of the aspects of this campaign that had us chuckling on the radio show is this satirical site, which came into being because Corwin's people were not as thorough as they should have been when snapping up domains for the candidate. (Social Media 101: Just because you got a .com for your campaign site doesn't mean you don't also need to own .org, .edu, .info and .tv, too.)

Hochul is one of the candidates backed by EMILY's List, the PAC devoted to promoting the election of pro-choice Democratic women to all levels of government. And right now, the group is recruiting grassroots supporters to phone bank with Get Out the Vote calls to Democrats in NY 26.

From their website: "Even just an hour of your time will make the difference for Kathy, and we'll provide you with all the information you'll need to make calls to mobilize targeted voters."

February 04, 2011

In November the American people sent a loud and clear message to Washington: work together to get the economy moving again. And during the lame duck session and then over the past few weeks, I was encouraged by the ability of Republicans and Democrats to come together to work for the American people. But now, just two weeks into the new Congress, it appears Republicans in the House are already seeking to end that spirit of cooperation.

They have introduced HR3: The No Taxpayer Funded Abortions Act, which would restrict women’s access to affordable reproductive care and even deny care to women when their lives are in danger. This bill would severely undermine women’s rights.

Even as Republicans lament that the government is being too intrusive in people’s lives, it seems that the very personal, private and often painful issue of ending a pregnancy is one area they are determined to regulate. Tragically, the consequences of this intrusiveness could prove disastrous to the health and well-being of women across America.

The Republicans likely have a large enough majority in the House to pass this bill, but we must block this bill in the U.S. Senate. Earlier this week, Senator Blumenthal and I sent a letter to all of our colleagues in the Senate, urging them to oppose similar legislation.

In the letter we wrote:

We must work together to stop these bills in their tracks, as they represent an unprecedented effort to restrict women’s access to reproductive health care and to their trusted health care providers.

I pledge to you that, just as we did with the Stupak Amendment, we will organize our fellow Senators to make sure we defeat this legislation. Can I count on you to join us in this fight to make sure Republicans and some conservative Democrats don’t succeed in chipping away at a woman’s right to choose even further than they already have?

December 04, 2010

Why is this even being debated? When unemployment is high, Congress has always voted to extend unemployment insurance for those unlucky people who have been laid off.

What's different about this Congress? The numbers of Republicans who I seem to recall campaigned with slogans like "Country First," but are now dragging their feet on a yes vote for the extension of unemployment. Who are these petty, greedy people who are simultaneously holding up other business in Congress for a tax cut that only millionaires will enjoy?

Call them now and give them a piece of your mind: 877-662-2889. Pass unemployment benefit extensions, NOW.

November 02, 2010

We know all you mamas out there are probably just as crazy busy today taking care of your families as you are every day of the year. But please, remember to take some time out of your hectic schedule today to VOTE. At many polling places it only takes minutes to cast your ballot.

To make voting a little easier for the frantic and frazzled, here are a few helpful links:

Find your polling place. Google is making it easy to find your polling place today with a special Google Maps Vote feature. Just enter your address and Google will not only find your polling place, but also give you directions.

Review local candidates and issues. Not sure what's on your local ballot? The League of Women Voters stands ready to help a mother out! Check out SmartVoter.org, where the League provides nonpartisan information on ballot issues and candidates across the country.

Can't find a sitter? Bring your kids. Got a toddler permanently attached to your hand or a newborn in a sling? Don't be afraid to haul your kids right into the voting booth with you. Youwon'tbe the only one!

The first time I tried voting with a baby in tow, back in 2004, I was really nervous that my kid would make a fuss in the long lines and make everyone stare. But I went anyway, and stood in line, holding an umbrella crookedly over my fussy six-month-old as a chilly rain fell on my own unprotected head. We both survived.

In fact, I've brought my son to vote with me in nearly every election since he was a baby, and every time, poll workers and fellow voters have been nothing but thrilled to see him and cover him in I VOTED stickers. Far from finding democracy boring, these days, my son gets angry at me if I can't bring him to vote.

Taking your children along to vote teaches your kids that participating in democracy is important to you. So if you have to bring them along, bring them, and do it with pride.

If your older kids whine about standing in line, just tell them you are voting to improve their future. And then when they roll their eyes at you, sneak them some leftover Halloween candy to distract them until you're finished voting.

10-22-10, UPDATED TO ADD: From the NYT, plenty of U.S.-based companies donate to dismantle government regulations they don't like. This NYT investigative report says 45 of the most rapacious American corporations account for most of the Chambers' lobbying.

Clearly, what's at stake for corporations overseas is a piece of the American manufacturing pie that has been steadily offshored since the 1980s. Foreign nationals benefit when U.S. corporations move their operations to subcontractors in other countries, and those nations and corporations are willing to buy and pay for GOP candidates who will make policy that is good for business. Their business. Not the business of America and Americans.

If we're to have an economic recovery, I urge President Obama to highlight those corporations that put America first. I have 6 suggestions to this end:

In times of fear and darkness, we tend to suppress the better angels of our nature. Instead, these women unleashed theirs.

Paul Barker, who for many years ran CARE’s operations in Afghanistan,
believes America would have accomplished more there if our government
had shared the two women’s passion for education and development. “I can
only wonder at what a different world it could be today if in those
fateful months after 9/11 our nation’s leadership had been guided more
by a people-to-people vision of building both metaphorical and physical
bridges,” Mr. Barker said.

I have said it before, and I'll say it again, I believe women can lead the way to peace. These women already have. What we need to do is build on what they've started. Let's hang onto these two old-time notions--mercy and grace--as we mark an event that's indelibly etched in our communal memory and will no doubt continue to shape the steps we take going forward, Beyond the 11th.

September 03, 2010

There are ideologues front and center in the classroom where instead there should be teachers and students.

Two highly qualified women in Texas have stepped up as State Board of Eduction (SBOE) candidates so they can roll back some of the more outrageous changes to the curriculum that non-educators with a fringe agenda have imposed on Texas schoolbooks.